Ellen Pompeo Reflects on the Impact of Grey’s Anatomy in a Heartfelt Interview

Grey's Anatomy has had a lasting impact on many people. In fact, the show has touched numerous fans over the last 13 years. However, the cast has also been affected by the series. Ellen Pompeo, who plays Dr. Meredith Grey on the ABC series, recently told Ellen DeGeneres that the show's impact on others has had a direct impact on her, professionally and personally.

"Everywhere I go — whether it's Italy, whether it's France, London, Kansas — people come up to me with tears in their eyes and tell me how meaningful [Grey's Anatomy] is to them," Pompeo said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

"So I gotta keep doing it, man," Pompeo continued. "Because we're touching lives and making a difference," as the show did with one fan: a gay teenager.

"A teenager was in the show and he was gay and he played a gay character on my show, and after we had filmed the whole entire episode, he said to me, 'You know, my whole life I've watched with my parents and I sort of used the show as a way to tell my parents that I was gay. And to show my parents that it's OK, that I'm not different, there's nothing wrong with me. And Grey's really helped my parents to understand what having a gay son meant and that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing,'" Pompeo explained. "'And for my parents to now see me as an actor getting a part on this show has just been everything.'"This isn't the first time Pompeo has opened up about the show's impact on her and others. Earlier this month, Pompeo told Entertainment Tonight how much she appreciates Grey's Anatomy and respects the position she is in. "We are really, really touching people's lives. I see the effects of it everyday. I hear the stories. We really make a difference in people's lives," Pompeo said. And, "as an artist, to be able to touch people in a meaningful way, I don't take it for granted, that's for sure. I appreciate it."